Know Your Reps: 2026
The San Fernando Valley is a patchwork of federal, state, city, county and neighborhood districts - all with their own representatives and terms. This overview covers the basics.
As national politics can suck all the air out of a room, it’s worth paying attention to what's going on locally. Voting and organizing can have more impact and end up affecting policy for the state or discourse beyond. Many federal-level politicians got their start locally. And there's more opportunity to learn about issues first-hand instead of relying on big media or political party PR.
A basic step is getting more familiar with local offices, their jurisdictions and the incumbents. Check out their websites to see their priorities and what services they can provide. Though being an election year, there might be changes afoot in November.
US Federal Government
These officials are who to look to for representation on national and foreign policy issues.
US Senate
You may know California’s two current Senators are Democrats Alex Padilla (2022-2028) and Adam Schiff (2024-2030). They aren't technically local reps, but they both just happen to live in The Valley. Padilla grew up in Pacoima and currently lives in Porter Ranch while Schiff lives in Burbank. Padilla has previously served in LA City Council, the CA Senate, and as CA Secretary of State; and Schiff has served in the CA Senate and the US House. Senators don't have term limits.
US House of Representatives
Below are the congressional district (CD) numbers and incumbents. Since they have 2-year terms, all offices are up for election this year and their opponents are also listed. Some districts have recently changed due to Proposition 50, the "Election Rigging Response Act" of 2025. These districts can extend far beyond The Valley as you can see on the map. House reps do not have term limits.
CD 27 North: George Whitesides (D)
will be running against Republican Jason Gibbs
CD 29 North/East: Luz Rivas (D)
will be running against Democrat Angélica Dueñas
CD 30 East: Laura Friedman (D)
will be running against Republican Scott Meyers
CD 32 South/West: Brad Sherman (D)
will be running against Republican Larry Thompson
California
At the state level, there is a Senate and an Assembly that work with Governor Gavin Newsom in a similar structure to the federal level. Senators have a 4-year term with a 3-term limit. Assembly members have a 2-year term with a 6-term limit. Offices are split up into senate districts (SD) and assembly districts (AD).
CA State Senate
SD 20 Central, North/East:: Caroline Menjivar (D)
will be running against Republican Tony Rodriguez
SD 27 The Hills/West: Henry Stern (D)
CA State Assembly
AD 40 North: Pilar Schiavo (D)
will be running against Republican Rickey Tracy Hayes II
AD 43 North/East: Celeste Rodriquez (D)
will be running against Republican Ricardo Benitez
AD 44 South/East: Nick Schultz (D)
will be running against Republican Carolyn Daniels
AD 46 South/West: Jesse Gabriel (D)
will be running against Republican Tracey Schroeder
Los Angeles
LA City and County reps are who to look to in handling local issues and creating policy for greater Los Angeles. County supervisors and city councilmembers both have a 4-year term with a 3-term limit. In addition, there are two incorporated cities in The Valley which are totally separate and have their own governing bodies. The county district and council district (CD) reps in The Valley are below.
LA County Board of Supervisors
3rd District Central/West: Lindsey Horvath (D)
5th District East: Kathryn Barger (R)
LA City Council
The 15 total councilmembers are the city legislature which works with the executive branch, Mayor Karen Bass.
CD 2 (Valley Village to Sun Valley): Adrin Nazarian (D)
CD 3 (Woodland Hills to Reseda): Bob Blumenfield (D)
CD 4 (Encino to Studio City): Nithya Ramen (D)
CD 6 (Arleta to Lake Balboa): Imelda Padilla (D)
CD 7 (Sylmar to Pacoima): Monica Rodriquez (D)
CD 12 (Chatsworth to Granada Hills to West Hills): John Lee (I)
LAUSD Board Districts
The LAUSD board of directors lead policy and direction for the region’s public school system. The Valley is in the "North" region of the school district and is covered by 3 out of the 7 total board districts (BD)
BD 3 West: Scott Schmerelson
BD 4 South/Hills: Nick Melvoin
BD 6 East: Kelly Gonez
Burbank & San Fernando City Councils
These are 2 incorporated cities within the San Fernando Valley. They are not represented in the LA City Council but each have their own 5-person elected councils which appoint a mayor.
Burbank Mayor: Tamala Takahashi
Councilmembers: Zizette Mullins, Konstantine Anthony, Nikki Perez, Christopher John Rizzotti
Burbank City Government
San Fernando Mayor: Joel Fajardo
Councilmembers: Mary Mendoza, Victoria Garcia, Patty Lopez, Mary Solorio
San Fernando City Council
Neighborhood Council
Neighborhood Councils are the most local form of government and were established relatively recently in 1999. Often you will find representatives from the districts reporting in to these local meetings and what they cover can vary by neighborhood and membership. Below are all the neighborhood councils within the Valley.
- Arleta
- Canoga Park
- Chatsworth
- Encino
- Granada Hills North
- Granada Hills South
- Lake Balboa
- Lakeview Terrace & Shadow Hills: Foothills Trails District
- Mission Hills
- North Hills East
- North Hills West
- NoHo
- North Hollywood Northeast
- North Hollywood West
- Northridge East
- Northridge South
- Northridge West
- Pacoima
- Panorama City
- Porter Ranch
- Reseda
- Sherman Oaks
- Studio City
- Sun Valley Area
- Sylmar
- Tarzana
- Toluca Lake
- Valley Glen
- Valley Village
- Van Nuys
- West Hills
- Winnetka
- Woodland Hills-Warner Center
...And Beyond
Governing bodies aren’t the only route to political action. They infact depend on hearing from engaged labor, non-profit, service and community groups to inform their direction (and of course big donors and lobbyists). But a big part of understanding why the city works the way it does and how to change it starts with knowing your reps.
